“There may be companies in which management people do not say: “The only way we ever get anything done around here is by making a drive on it.” Yet, “management by drive” is the rule rather than the exception.” – The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker. 1954.
For an organization to successfully move forward, they must have clear goals and objectives in place. No organization, whether a for-profit business or not, can expect to achieve anything without having goals and objectives. Businesses are made up of a number of individuals, each of whom is different than the next. Giving them all the same list of objectives creates a united front where everyone strives for the same goals. None of that can happen without effective management in place, helping everyone keep focus and steering the business clear of potential crises.
Managers who choose to focus on the “now” or who spend time putting out the same fire every day are truly ineffective. While they may see their actions as being positive, the fact is that they end up committing to much time and company resources to causes that don’t need that level of attention. When that happens, everyone starts to lose sight of the real objectives of the company until before long, all of the employees end up heading down a road that is traveling away from the objective. This is usually the point at which confusion and burnout ensue. Managers put all their efforts into “drives” they believe are important, while executives of the company start to question why plans and goals aren’t being met, all while the company starts to go into a seemingly endless tailspin.
There are many mangers that look at that type of leadership as the way to go. Their belief is that dealing with minor emergencies every day will prepare everyone for the day when a major crisis arises.
That type of thinking is similar to the weightlifter who bench presses the same weight every day, sure that he can handle extra weight whenever he needs to. The same rules apply to a runner who goes the same distance every day, firmly believing he can stretch out the distance when required. Both may be able to do so, but an organization is made up of a team of individuals. Equal effort is needed from all as the team suffers when individuals start to lose sight of the real objective, doing one of two things:
The employee forgets about his main responsibility and takes part in the drive.
The employee breaks away from the team objective and opts to work alone.
Either decision usually ends with ineffective work being delivered. Pretty soon the entire business gets off track, with employees in every department paying too much attention to the unexpected issue. Managers and executives get caught up in the clamor and the real objectives get shuffled aside.
It will still look as though the organization is running efficiently, but the fact is that it will have ceased to be effective.
Objectiveli is a goals and objectives management application, from setting, to managing and tracking them. Objectiveli: Driving Outcomes that matter, fulfilling your Goals and Objectives, instead of losing focus; managing day-to-day emergencies and “things to do”. For a limited time Objectiveli is offering its application for free, signup from their website at http://objectiveli.com.
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